Survival, in the long run, does not depend on the shell which houses the soul, but rather on that core self which may
go by the name each individual feels most comfortable with, be it soul, ba, ka, psyche, or whatever. It is all a matter
of Willing (in the purely Thelemic sense) one’s personal future. And, I might add, the yet-to-be is not fixed; it is
subject to change and may alter itself by the moment, thereby lending itself as a tool working equally well in the
hands of the good and evil. The crux of the entire process is a proper understanding of not only what is being done,
but why it is being carried out. Hence, when Initiate A aligns his determination in the direction of increasing his
fund of Magical knowledge, he is successful even if the results do not make immediate sense. He has taken the sum
of his knowledge and skills to that moment and concentrated them on his quest for truths. His Xeper has brought
about a Remanifestation which makes his personal Coming Into Being more cultured than before. He could just as
easily have changed the intent of the Working to bring about an increased perception of the paths of evil and
Remanifested as a more worldly-wise monster. In both cases the hypothetical Initiate opens doors to new states of
being and has thereby the option of continuing what he has begun. The eventual disintegration has a greater chance
of taking place in the pursuit of evil because malice is in the end a limiting thing leading to the door to annihilation.
Sooner or later it must fall under the domination of the Word of Sin and find itself without a purpose - just so much
destruction can take place before there is nothing left to obliterate. The soul is then left in a cosmos made empty by
itself.
The author of Words from the Æon of HarWer to the present has been sought through as many singular
avenues as there have been individuals setting their feet on the Path. The Æon of HarWer, as recounted in the Book
of Coming Forth by Night, was marked by confusion as its Magus did his best unwittingly or not to surround the
principles of the initiating Æon with as much extraneous material as was humanly possible. As much as Ipsissimus
Crowley has my personal admiration, his predilection for piling the obscure on in heaping doses often leads me to a
state of exasperation with his works. After all, why describe the dynamics of air intake, nerve action/reaction, and
the force of air expulsion in cryptic jargon when it is more direct to use the word “sneeze” and be done with it. The
fault is not totally DCLXVI’s - his god had a great deal of the fitful about him. Things, to put it mildly, were not
particularly easy or straightforward in that Æon.
The Path became less cluttered when I ÆS arrived and Anton LaVey began disposing of an enormous amount of
the outdated and needless material still lingering from the Æon of HarWer in the course of his Task of expounding
Indulgence. As any study of the Satanic Bible will show, his was a far more direct approach to life than were those of
the winding Crowley teachings. The philosophy of the Church of Satan was an attractive one to many a person, thrill
seeker and serious student alike, but what a good number failed to see was that its Magus, Church, and Satanic
Bible operated on another subtle and higher level beyond the mere “do anything you want” outlook. As Dr. Aquino
has said in the past, Magus LaVey would not speak as freely and definitively on the subject of Satan as he would on
other topics relevant to his Age. Although he made references to forces and vibrations and the Man Downstairs
without making the defining statement of what Satan actually was, it would be an error to consider him a
nonbeliever in the god of the Satanic Age. The question of the objective reality of Set (or Satan or HarWer) must
arise at one time or another and the problem demanded a personal resolution on the part of the Magus Anton LaVey
as surely as it does with each of us in the Temple of Set. Setians are not asked to blindly believe in Set - it is better
that they examine all the reasons for there not being an entity called Set in order to arrive at an intellectual
conclusion that there might well be something out there and that our current fund of knowledge is most probably
correct regarding that which we and it call Set. Anton LaVey’s Task was to lay a groundwork that man might
increase in nobility through the use of the Word Uttered through his lips. None can turn his hand to such a
responsibility without the knowledge of the deity passing near to him. Man might be related to the beasts of the
planet through his organic body, but there burned in him an alien spark which the Magus of Satan kindled further
through his Work.
The Word of the Church of Satan, like its predecessor, is integral to successfully carrying out an upward
Remanifestation. Also like the Word before it, the correlation can be explained simply and clearly. All Words are
brought forth that they might amplify man’s use of both the moment of now and the pursuit of the future, options
available to them through the Black Flame. Both Thelema and Indulgence defined components which can be
magnified in an upward direction to allow for building the structure of the being into a self-defined and compleat
being, Thelema being the presence of that able to set its course through the cosmos and Indulgence the means
through which that course can operate on a divine rather than mundane orientation. Without the Words before
Remanifest the principle would have nothing higher to elevate and without Remanifest the others would be single
event happenings.
Remanifest is far more closely allied to Xeper than to the previous Utterances even with its relevant bond to
those Words. It was in the Æon of Xeper that Remanifest came to be and by the rules under which it exists, it cannot
conflict with the Word and teachings of Ipsissimus Aquino. Its function more properly supplements the action of
Xeper in Initiatory life through demonstrating the exponential results of that quest. Xeper is operative as a verb in
addition to its noun status and is constantly taking place in both lesser and greater ways. Remanifest describes the
point at which those acts of Coming Into Being unite to focus and induce change. It is by definition as simple and
clear as that.
- 439 -
Looking to the future is one of the very reasons that the written and spoken sequence of “Xeper and Remanifest”
seems so precisely correct to me. Initiates Come Into Being and then having reached that new state of being,
Remanifest all that they have Become through the newly realized powers at their disposal. This leads to further
explorations of the universes with those sharpened skills and new Xeper s which in turn bring about new
possibilities to Remanifest ad infinitum. These new beings produced by the process will eventually uncover new
Words and as I have commented in the past, upcoming principles are areas of intense curiosity on my part. It is
highly likely given our present rate of evolution that they will emerge and try as I may to perceive the future, those
secrets are hidden from me. It is right, proper, and logical that it should be so. Æon-enhancing Magi in years to
come will feel precisely as I do, that their Words should be linked with Xeper. Although the “Xeper and Remanifest”
sequence is the most embracing elucidation of the Formula at the time of this writing, other Magi will make the
Formula even more patent and understandable. They will themselves undertake their Tasks from the basis of new
&n
bsp; Understandings highly relevant to the Magical Current of the day and will proclaim their bonds with Xeper. From
this you can see the reasoning behind summarizing the Formula as Xeper and Remanifest.
The Temple has not disappointed my expectations for the Word. Initiates have read the material available, given
feedback and criticism, and tested the proposition for validity in their own lives. No Magus can successfully carry
out his Task with an iron hand. He can share his understanding with others insofar as his communication skills and
attention span will allow and then hope for the best. That, Setians, is what the atmosphere of the Temple of Set is:
the best, most exacting, and fertile of environments for the development of implements to aid the reason for the
Temple’s presence - the evolution of man into the divine.
Xeper and Remanifest.
- 440 -
A89: Runa
- by Stephen E. Flowers V°
October 1990
Runa is that which is hidden, perpetually beyond the grasp of the intellect. By attaining to levels of
Understanding of what was previously hidden, we push back the barriers and in the process create even greater
mysteries beyond. This process is clear in science as well as art.
As I Understand the current constellation of Æonic Words (Words within the Æon), Xeper is the process of
evolution of Self in the quest for the elusive Graal/Walhalla ( Xem), the mechanism is Remanifestation, the map
is Thelema, Indulgence is all with which we even gain union, and Runa is that which lies outside or beyond our
direct experience. It is the hunger for the Graal which drives the magician: the subtle sense of the unknown and the
unknowable that motivates the magician ever onward.
Runa is intimately attached to the circle or ring of nature - to the ring around the pentagram. It is a kind of
magnetic ring, pulling a focus (the Self) through the Nine Angles. The points themselves - even before the current of
energy reaches them - are Runa, the energy is Thelema, the Ninth Angle/Black Flame is Walhalla; the very process
itself with all of these and yet unknown qualities is Xeper.
The eternally Hidden draws us ever onward. The Hidden can sometimes be interpreted as the Feminine or the
Darkness, but essentially it is the eternally-deep core reality which simultaneously pushes and draws us into the
Unknown.
The relationship between Runa and the ring is important to the Work of the Order of the Trapezoid with which
the natural cosmos interacts according to the æsthetics and magical criteria of the Romantics. But that is the subject
of another work.
Runa, therefore, is obviously an Æon-enhancing Word rather than one intended to usher in a new æon. Its
strong historical roots also suggest that it is a strangely non-linear, omnipresent Word which weaves in and out of
time, Remanifesting according to a mysterious pattern.
Runa is the Sense of the Unknown. This implies an element of subjectivity, which will have a different quality
depending upon the level of Initiation of that Subject. For the non-Initiate, especially those on Paths other than the
Left-Hand, there will be the element of horror and fear which will accompany the Unknown - once the seeker has
delved to sufficient depths of Being.
In the most basic level of our experience, Runa is that Sense of the Hidden - even of the Forbidden - which has
perhaps motivated humanity more vitally than anything else. One of the greatest of all human drives is the drive to
uncover the hidden, to discover that which was previously unknown. This is so obvious, yet it remains something
largely unexplored as a Principle in and of itself. Ultimately this factor in the human psyche is that responsible for
the actual reception of the Gift of Set: Set may have given, but some part of the receiver must already have been
capable of receiving the Gift in a productive way. This factor remains with humanity, of course. Only now it is
powered with the Gift and therefore can be conscious of this drive.
As distinguished from some of the other Words which have been Uttered, Runa is one that is essentially
comprehensible by all Setians regardless of degree, because some aspect of it has been experienced by all. It
remains, however, something which can be Understood fully and completely for what it is only by the Magistry.
We in the Temple have rightly been very mistrustful of “mystery” and “mysticism” - anything which smacks of
the “unclear” or “fuzzy” - because such terms have been so abused by “mystics” of the past. What they may mean by
“mystery” and what I mean by Runa are two different things. Runa does not lead to obscurity; rather it is the first
step to clarity. Just as Socrates was declared the wisest man in all Hellas because he claimed to “know nothing” - as
all knowledge begins with the assumption of ignorance - so too does clarity begin with a Sense of the Hidden. This is
an eternal process: As we push back the veil of the Hidden in one field, that very act creates yet more fields of the
Unknown beyond. In just such a way, if consciously applied, humanity exercises the god-like power of creation.
The real function of Runa - of “mystery” - on the Left-Hand Path is the way in which it leads to the clarification
or objectification of subjective/inner experience.
Dangers: All æonic Words carry with them inherent dangers - to their Magi more than anyone else, but also to
the world, as they will make alterations in the fabric of the Objective Universe. The danger of Runa is to become lost
in the realm of subjectivity - in the sense of mystery. Its Magus, however, is aware of this and moreover finds
himself in the company of fellow Masters of the Temple who, by their very Being, guard against this danger.
Runa Ultima
The ultimate Rune is the objectification or objectifying of the ultimate subject. This would be the entry into the
ring of Runa and the attainment of an “omnijective” perspective. The end and means of this are contained in Xeper,
and the notion that the end/means constitute a return (qualitative) is Remanifestation. No amount of
philosophizing on this topic or process can make one Understand what this means. It is something which must be
the result of one’s own Initiatory level of Being coming directly to grips with the challenge. Although the concept of
- 441 -
Runa can be comprehended by almost anyone and be understood by several, only those who have entered the City
of the Pyramids can be said to truly Understand it.
- 442 -
A90: Xeper: The Eternal Word of Set
- by Don Webb V°
North Solstice XXXI/June 22, 1996
I am a Magus of the Word Xeper (pronounced “kheffer”), an English language coinage expressing an Egyptian
verb written as a stylized scarab and meaning “I Have Come Into Being”. This Word generates the Æon of Set, and is
the current form of the Eternal Word of the Prince of Darkness. To know this Word is to know that the ultimate
responsibility for the evolution of your psyche is in your hands. It is the Word of freedom, ecstasy, fearful
responsibility, and the root of all magic.
Xeper is the Word of worlds; it describes the process through which all worlds Come Into Being. It is a Word
that creates a matrix into which it can be reUttered, on both personal and historical levels. Each reUtterance both
destroys and re-creates the matrix into which it is Uttered or known.
It is the word of cyclic dynamism, reflecting the c
ycle of Manifestation --> Being --> Dismanifestation -->
Remanifestation. It affects those who know it as a pleasurable and clear perception of their reality, power, and will
in both the objective and subjective universes.
Each moment of knowing Xeper, that is to say of being in the place in your life where you can say “I Have Come
Into Being!”, is a moment that Ouspensky describes as “objective consciousness”. It is from the moments of
perceiving and acting upon Xeper that the Setian begins the process of becoming an immortal, independent,
powerful, and potent Essence, which affects the universes in many ways both casually and a-casually.
An æon is a world. As human beings we are familiar with many “worlds”. We can talk about the “world of
Thomas Jefferson” or the “world of Newton”. Magical worlds are created by Words - by the verbal power of mankind
to express a divine principle - which through the effect of that Utterance on the objective universe brings about the
creation of the world. The Word serves as a gateway for the mind seeking to enter the world it defines, and the effect
of an Utterance of a Word will cause many worlds to be reconfigured in order to hear it.
The Æon of Set is created by the Word “Xeper”. Xeper is an Egyptian verb meaning “I Have Come Into Being”.
Xeper is the experience of an individual psyche becoming aware of its own existence and deciding to expand and
evolve that existence through its own actions. Xeper has been experienced by anyone who has decided to seek
personal development.
Awareness of Xeper usually begins with a moment of rebellion against the spiritual status quo. In this sense
Xeper is a “Satanic” word, and the condition that led to its re-emergence on this Earth began in the working called
the Church of Satan. Its properties, however, transcend and in some ways oppose that matrix. It is the nature of self-
creation that it continually re-creates its matrix in the objective universe so that the subjective universe can evolve
and expand.
To experience that moment of Xeper, of emergent self-divinity, one must love two things with all of one’s heart.
The first of these is freedom, because only in freedom can one take the steps [if initially only mentally] that create
The Temple of Set II Page 108
